


Music of the Night

by GirlWithTheDragonHeart



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Complete, F/M, Fluff, Let's call this my Hannah Montana fusion, Music, No really there's a lot of fluff, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-03 19:51:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6623953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GirlWithTheDragonHeart/pseuds/GirlWithTheDragonHeart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Katara schemes to get tickets to see Republic City's newest and most mysterious musical sensation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Music of the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Happy FanFiction Friday! This is based very loosely on a request I got on Tumblr. I did my best to cram as many tropes into this fiction as possible, I swear. Hopefully you find it fun ;)

Katara stared at the poster, transfixed. Water spots from the rain had blurred some of the detail, but the likeness was unmistakable. Her breath caught as she realized the implications. _The Blue Spirit,_ she thought, when her brain finally started functioning again. _Is coming here. _She couldn't contain it any more and jumped in excitement, not caring about the others at the bus stop.

The concert was all anyone at school could talk about. The Blue Spirit was Republic City's most popular, and most mysterious, rising singer/songwriter. Nobody knew his true identity, and he had only done a few shows since he dropped his run-away hit album the year before. Tickets hadn't gone on sale yet, but Katara knew that they would be a hot commodity and sell out quickly, even though he was playing in the pro-bending area.

She leaned across the counter at the Jasmine Dragon after school. The afternoon rush had quieted, and the post-dinner rush had yet to start. "Zuko," she felt a little guilty as she distracted her boss's nephew from his reading. His head popped up and turned toward her, his golden eyes blazing into her. She felt her insides go gooey when he looked at her like that, but she pulled on her best-friend's-little-sister mask to hide how her heart sped up. She looked at the title of his book – _Dances with Dragons: Colonization and the Fire Nation During the Hundred Years' War_.

She wrinkled her nose and nodded her head at the book. "What is that?"

"History credit," he sighed.

"Aren't you an English major?" she asked. She no longer felt bad about interrupting him.

Zuko shrugged. "It's still a liberal arts degree, so it's not just all writing and talking about literature," he said, eyes flicking back and forth from the book to her.

Katara took his hesitation to get back to his reading as an invitation to keep talking. "How am I going to get tickets to that show?"

Zuko put a highlighter in the pages of his book to mark his place and stretched his arms over his head. Katara had to close her mouth to keep from drooling as his red sweater hitched up and his pale abdomen showed. She had known him since he and Sokka had started playing on the same football team six years before, and had had a crush on him roughly the same amount of time.

 _Now that Sokka is in Ba Sing Se, Zuko is just trying to fill in the Big Brother void in my life,_ she told herself. _Nothing more._

"How much are they selling for?" He asked.

Katara dumped out the tip jar and pushed the meager coins around. "I might be able to afford one if I don't pay my phone bill and walk everywhere for the next few months."

Zuko scoffed and "I don't see what's so great about the guy. What's with the disguise anyway?"

Katara couldn't help but look at him like he had taken crazy pills. "The disguise is the best part," she said. "I could go on about the significance of the Blue Spirit in folk lore around here, but I'll spare you. He could be anyone – he could walk right into this tea shop and we wouldn't even know," she leaned closer to his spot at the counter and whispered. She propped her chin back on her hand and sighed dreamily. "It's like he doesn't care about the fame – it's really all about the music."

She glanced back at Zuko, who was watching her with a little smile. She felt the blood rush to her face from being caught rambling and dreaming. She fought back a stammer as she held her ground. "His lyrics are so deep – I mean, have you heard any of his music?"

Zuko's good cheek grew pink. "I know some of his stuff. You don't think it's too… whiney?"

"It's obvious he's been through some stuff," Katara responded. "Have you heard 'The Search'? Absolutely heart wrenching." Zuko nodded, his face a mask from emotion. Katara thought about his past, and decided not to say anything more on the matter.

She could write an essay about that song. It started off like any other about a long lost love, but it wasn't until the bridge that Blue revealed that the lost love was his mother. Katara could definitely relate to the unanswered questions, the hurt and the pain.

The teashop was silent for another minute before Zuko cleared his throat. "How's your music going?" he asked.

Katara sometimes performed at the teashop, taking advantage of the piano that Iroh had purchased for musicians to play on. The sound was much richer than the keyboard she plugged headphones into in her room.

"I'm actually working on something new," she said, glancing around the empty teashop. She quirked an eyebrow up at him and grinned. "You wanna hear?"

Zuko's eyes practically lit up as he nodded. She stretched her fingers before doing a few warm-up scales. Katara was no lyricist, but she loved constructing melodies and teaching herself popular songs and twisting them into something that was her own. She decided to play something that was her own making first.

Zuko leaned against the piano, bobbing his head in time to her song. Katara kept her breath even and pretended like Zuko was just her brother listening to her song. If she allowed herself to look at him, she knew she would stumble over her fingers.

At the end of it, Zuko applauded. "Do you have any lyrics to go with that?" he asked.

Katara shook her head and tapped her head with her pointer finger. "Just music here, remember? I'll leave the songwriting to others."

Zuko hummed the chorus again, tapping his fingers against the lid of the old upright. "It's catchy," he nodded. "Kind of an ear worm."

Katara knew she was blushing, and couldn't hide it. "Well, if you think of any words for it, please share."

"What are you doing after you graduate?" he asked.

"I know I want to go to college, but I don't know exactly what I want to study yet," Katara shrugged. "I'm thinking about taking a year to backpack around the rest of the Earth Kingdom. Take my guitar around and just see where it takes me, you know?"

Zuko nodded and opened his mouth again, but the bell at the door tinkled, interrupting whatever he was going to say. They locked stares for another moment before the spell was truly broken.

When she finally turned on the bench, she was surprised to find Zuko's sister Azula making herself a pot of Snow Monkey Plum. Her girlfriend Ty Lee performed a graceful cartwheel toward the counter.

"Oh please, don't mind us," Azula drawled, stirring the tealeaves in the hot water in a way that would make Iroh shudder. "We're just here for a warm drink."

Azula was the president of their class at school, and Katara had little interaction with her outside of planning committees. Aside from their looks and high level intelligence, it was easy to forget that she and Zuko were even related. Even though she lived above the shop with Zuko and Iroh, she rarely came into the teashop. Katara assumed she was too busy with fencing or cheering on Ty Lee at gymnastics competitions to hang out much. That was fine; she was intimidating and was about as warm and inviting as a prickly pear cactus.

"Can you play me that one more time?" Zuko asked. She stretched her arms out in front of her, pretending like it was still just the two of them in the shop. The two girls behind her grew silent, listening to the music as well.

"Your music is amazing," Zuko touched her arm as she walked by him when customers arrived, and she stopped. "Blue might have the words down, but your composition is much better," he said too softly for anyone else to hear.

"Th-thank you, Zuko," she stammered. Her heart nearly beat out of her ribcage, and she some how managed to put her apron back on and stand at the counter without passing out.

* * *

She had three weeks to pull together the money for the tickets. Three weeks to scrimp and save. Iroh let her pick up extra shifts, and insisted that she work on her homework when it was dead, sometimes sitting her at the table in the back for an hour or two to work on her schoolwork (on the clock) while he ran the register. Zuko would sometimes help after he finished his own schoolwork, trying to convince her to just go home and let him close up.

"You know Uncle will still pay your wages through closing, and you get all of the tips," he would say.

"Zuko, that's a little dishonest, and I'm not going to do it," she would argue. Even though Zuko lived above the shop, he insisted on walking Katara home when she closed. _It was the protective older brother instinct_ , she told herself to keep her hopes from flying too wild.

More of Zuko's schoolmates stopped in during her shifts, even though he hated studying with others. Katara suspected that he was just trying to help her earn more tips any way he could.

With their help, she was able to earn enough for one ticket without sleeping through class or giving up her phone or the bus. She checked her account balance constantly, using cash for all of her purchases and collecting the coins to deposit back into her account.

The morning that the tickets went on sale, Katara snuck out of school between second and third period. She felt bad skipping out on her Republic City history lesson, but Aang had already promised to lend her his notes.

The gym door creaked and a sliver of light showed her last obstacle to freedom. She just needed to get through to the double doors at the other end, and she would be home free. She kicked the stand to prop it open for the light and made a break for it. Pushing open that last door, the sunlight bathed her and she felt exhilarated, like a successful ninja. Now to just make her way the few blocks to the public library and its free Wi-Fi and –

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" The gruff voice of Vice Principal Izumi stopped Katara cold in her tracks.

All things considered, she got off lightly. Since it was her first offense ever, she didn't have to skip work for after school detention. Vice Principal Izumi gave her a stern lecture about responsibility and the importance of participation, but Katara knew she had missed her best chance at getting tickets. She couldn't even try to use cell data to check her phone on her way to class, because she had a personal escort. Aang gave her a comforting smile as she sat down.

By the time she checked at lunch, the only tickets that were left were far outside of her price limit. She ate her homemade sandwich with disgust, and luckily the others at her table knew enough to leave her alone.

When Zuko arrived at the Jasmine Dragon after class, he took one look at her slumped shoulders and ran upstairs. He returned with a simple envelope.

"I was going to give this to you later," he said while she pulled the sheet of paper out. "I thought of some lyrics for your composition."

She read over the lyrics – nay, poetry – that Zuko had written for her. They were beautiful, and the disappointment at missing out on her favorite artist's show stung less. She didn't even try to tamp down the hope that flared in her chest every time she reread the page.

* * *

Zuko picked at dinner listlessly.

"Ugh, Zu-Zu, you realize there is an easy fix for getting Katara a ticket to that show, right?" Azula splashed water on her sleeve as she slammed her glass on the table in frustration.

"Azula, how am I going to pull that off? Um, Katara, here are some tickets to the fastest-selling concert in the history of the Republic City arena. Just don't ask me how I got them?" Zuko rolled his eyes.

"If you would stop making goo-goo eyes at her, you might notice that she is over the moon for you too," Azula drawled, wiping the spilled water up with her napkin. "I think a simple 'I'm the Blue Spirit and I want you in the front row of my show so I can finally sing to you all of my emotions' would suffice."

Zuko buried his face in his hands, wincing at the feeling of the scar in his left palm. They had been over the list of a thousand reasons his stage persona had to remain separate from his real life; the main one being that he didn't want to delve into his complicated family history with the public. He didn't want to field any questions about his criminal father or his horrendous scar. There was no way he would rehash that in public.

"Maybe there could just be a ticket give-away?" he peeked up at Azula. "And it could be a little rigged?"

Azula shook her head. "Not with a give-away open to the public. That's a little illegal." She tapped her temple with one impeccably manicured fingernail. "I'm guessing VIP will be out of the question?"

Zuko nodded dejectedly. "She might see through the make-up that close."

Azula smiled wickedly. "I think that the Blue Spirit should just donate some tickets to a certain high school for a raffle." She held up a finger to stop Zuko from objecting. "I know a certain senior class president who can stuff the contest box."

Zuko's face brightened. "Well, if you can manage that…"

"We barely talk at school, and nobody would confuse us for friends," Azula said, leaning on her elbows, clasping her hands together and smiling like a villain from a storybook. "Trust me." At moments like this, Zuko was a little frightened of his intense little sister.

* * *

"Zuko, you will _not_ believe what happened," she flung the door open and tore through the shop like a tidal wave. Luckily the afternoon rush had yet to begin.

"What's that?" he schooled his face into bemusement.

She clutched her jacket in one hand, slipping the other into the inner pocket. She smirked and looked up at him through her eyelashes for dramatic effect. Zuko laughed at her antics, and she brandished two tickets. If they had been characters in an animated show, the background would have been pastel rainbows and bubbles and the tickets would have sparkled in the echoes of her laughter. As it was, she skipped around the counter, holding up two tickets to the show of her dreams.

She calmed down enough to hang her coat on the hook and put on her apron. Her face was still flushed from excitement. "Since I won two tickets, I was wondering," she bit her bottom lip. Zuko was leaning on an arm on the counter, and unconsciously leaned toward her, watching that bottom lip. "Do you want to go to the show with me?"

This blood rushed to his face, and his brain stopped working. Her blue eyes twinkled with hope and maybe some nervousness, though, and he couldn't disappoint her. "Yeah, I would love to go with you," were the words he heard come out of his mouth. He spent the rest of the afternoon basking in her excitement, deciding to kick himself over this later.

* * *

"Please stop laughing, Azula," he said.

She wiped an unshed tear from her eye. "Okay, I'm sorry," she crossed her legs and took a deep breath. She looked at him and promptly broke into giggles again. "But really, what did you expect?" she asked.

"I didn't realize that the giveaway was for two tickets, or that she would ask _me_ ," Zuko groaned into his hands. "How did that happen, Azula?"

"Think of it as an experiment, brother," she controlled her amusement into a Cheshire smile. "A very successful experiment."

"The first date with the girl of my dreams is to my own concert," he shot a glare at her. "At least Sokka would have something nice to say."

"Does Sokka know that you're a national singing sensation or that you're crushing on his sister?" Azula failed to keep the taunting melody out of her voice.

Zuko made a noise that was a little rough on his vocal chords. He poured a cup of tea and sipped on it instead. "So I looked into how much hologram technology would cost for the concert," he said with a straight face. Azula raised an eyebrow. "It's way outside of our budget," he mumbled.

To her credit, Azula did not break into cackles again. "Okay, there's always Azula's favorite plan," she said. He shook his head, face blank. "Tell her the truth," she emphasized each syllable. "It'll be hard to explain why you're constantly in the bathroom while the Blue Spirit is performing if you don't."

"What if she's disappointed?" Zuko asked. "You should have heard her talk about how much Blue's lyrics meant to her. What if the truth is a let-down?"

Azula waved her hand. "It won't be. And if it is, she doesn't deserve you. Zuko or the Blue Spirit."

Zuko shook his head. "I'm calling Varrick to see if we can do a surprise upgrade to VIP. I might be able to pull this off yet."

He walked away, humming a song that tickled one of Azula's memories. Her eyes narrowed, and determination set in. It seemed that she needed to spend more time with a certain teashop barista.

* * *

Katara felt like she was walking on eggshells. Azula was sitting in Zuko's normal spot for the third time this week, barking out random questions. What was her favorite thing about the Blue Spirit? What was her favorite song and why? Why did she want to take her brother to the concert? What were her plans for after graduation?

She swallowed her intimidation and resolved to be as friendly with Azula as she was with any other customer.

"What is your favorite instrument?" Azula asked as Katara brewed a pot of tea for a new table.

"To play or listen to?" The initial confusion over the interrogation had faded, and annoyance blossomed in Katara's chest instead.

Azula tapped the end of her pen against her lip. "Both."

Katara looked over the jars of tealeaves. "Are you writing down my answers?" she asked, her eye beginning to twitch. She hustled away with the tray, holding in her irritation. Instead of walking back around the counter when she returned, she pulled out the stool next to Azula.

"Is this because I won those tickets?" she hissed. At first, Katara had assumed Azula was just jealous about the contest at school. "Or because I invited your brother to come with me?"

Azula's eyes lit with interest and she smiled with her mouth closed. "I just feel bad that we've never been close, that's all, Katara. And I'm just an avid note-taker, that's all."

Katara raised her eyebrows, but hurried back around the counter to take another order. Azula wrote a few more things in her notebook, and Katara tried very hard to ignore her.

"Where is Zuko anyway?" she finally asked, curiosity winning out. "I haven't seen him in a while."

Azula still had that sticky sweet smile on her face. "Well, the concert is next week," she said, as though that explained anything. "Now, would you say your favorite instrument is the piano?"

* * *

Azula's heels clicked against the stone floor of the school hall and she smiled. She was an evil genius. Ty Lee greeted her with a kiss at her locker and waited as she switched out her books. "How is the costume hunt going?" Azula asked.

"I think it will be even better than what you described," Ty Lee's eyes lit up as she flipped her braid back over her shoulder and handed over her phone with the photo pulled up. She sighed and clasped her hands together. "It's just so sweet that you're setting up Zuko with Katara. Their auras pair so well."

Azula shut her locker with a satisfying click and held the phone out. "I just wish my brother wasn't so dense. This is a risky plan."

Ty Lee wrapped an arm around Azula's waist and she reflexively wrapped her arm around Ty Lee's shoulder. "If it's meant to be, it will be," Ty Lee stated confidently. "And those auras are meant to be."

* * *

Katara practically glowed the next time Zuko saw her. He had rushed back from rehearsal each night, hoping to catch her before she had finished closing, but without luck. That night, though, he watched her play the piano through the window for a few minutes before opening the door. Her eyes were closed and her body leaned into the music. He cursed the bell on the door when it alerted her to his presence.

Katara flew off the piano bench. Apparently, Varrick's magic had been cast.

"I can't believe it," she gushed. "Upgraded to VIP?" she grabbed his hands in excitement. "We'll be so close to him, Zuko!"

 _You already are_ , Zuko thought, dazed at how close she was and still wondering how he was going to manage this two-places-at-one-time thing.

Katara had already done all of the dishes, and Zuko helped her pick up chairs and sweep the floor.

"Hey, what were you playing when I came it?" he asked.

She blushed. "It's nothing – I was just thinking about that song 'The Search' and was playing around with something."

Zuko felt his face flushing as well. "Um, well, do you mind playing it for me?"

"Of course," she slid onto the bench.

Instead of standing next to the piano, he sat next to her. "Is this okay?" he asked hesitantly. She nodded and began to play and sang. He had never heard Katara sing before. She had a strong and husky alto. She wasn't singing the true melody, but rather a counter melody. Zuko started singing along with her as well. Neither of them noticed the cracked door in the corner that led up the apartment, or suspected anyone was watching them.

When they ended, Katara turned to him with wide eyes and he thought for sure his cover had been blown. "Zuko, I never knew you could sing like that," she breathed.

"It's just something I do for myself, you know?" he rubbed at the back of his neck, uncomfortable. Did part of him _wish_ she would figure it out?

She began to play the song she had made up. "Do you need the lyrics for this one, or do you remember them?"

Zuko smiled, thinking about why rehearsals had gone so long that week. "I think I remember them."

When they were finished that song, they played a few other popular songs that Katara knew to play. This was fun and lighthearted, and every time Katara leaned over him to play some high notes, her thigh pressed into his and he felt a little lightheaded.

He jumped when he finally looked at the clock. "Sorry, I kept you here way too late."

He grabbed her coat, holding it while she put her arms through the sleeves. The door to the stairwell clicked shut, and, distracted, he kept his hands on her shoulders. He shook himself out of his stupor when Katara's shoulders hunched up slightly.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I thought I heard something."

Zuko held an umbrella over their heads as they walked the few blocks to her family's townhouse. The small umbrella kept her close to him, but the loud raindrops lulled them into silence.

He walked her up to her door and shook out the umbrella as they stood under the portico. She had her keys out, but Zuko didn't want to see her go yet. He reached out and held her hand.

Katara looked up at him with slightly furrowed brows. "Zuko…" she breathed, and he thought he felt her breath on his cheek.

"I just wanted to let you know how excited for Friday I am," he said, squeezing her hand. "Th-thank you for inviting me."

Katara smiled at him. "Well, you're important to me," she blushed.

Zuko brushed a stray hair back from her face, stroking her cheek with his fingers. They both froze, eyes searching and breaths frozen. Zuko leaned down at the same time she turned her face up and at some point his eyes closed and their lips touched. Zuko dropped the umbrella he was holding in his other hand and brought it around her waist at the same time she buried her hand still holding her keys in his hair. His other hand still clutched hers, now to his chest.

Their faces broke apart when a car drove past, honking at them. They stayed in their embrace. Katara's eyes widened. "I should go before my dad wakes up," she said softly.

"Yeah, I should go since you're home safely," Zuko said, pulling her closer. Her fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck, her keys pressing gently into his skin. He brought her hand up from hic chest to kiss it. "I'll see you Friday."

"Yeah," Katara said breathlessly. "Friday."

* * *

Katara had been kidnapped. At least, she thought that might be what had happened. Or this was the most vivid nightmare ever. The car ride – included in the VIP package – with Zuko had been especially quiet and awkward, especially considering the last time they had seen each other they had kissed. Katara had worried when he vanished that he had had second thoughts about whatever that kiss might mean for their friendship.

Then, Azula and Ty Lee had popped out of nowhere and pulled her into a small room. Katara kept waiting to wake up drenched in a pool of her own sweat – this had to be a nightmare. When Azula started taking off her clothes and Ty Lee combed through her hair, she fought back.

"What is going on?" Katara smacked their hands away. They had to be pranking her. Azula slapped at Katara's hands and continued to take her dress off. "This is _not_ okay."

Azula stood and held her hands. Katara was wearing her bra and underwear, and was very freaked out about the whole ordeal. Azula sighed. "Look, Katara, my brother has a surprise for you tonight, but I wanted to one-up him and help _you_ shock _him_. Ty Lee and I have less than fifteen minutes to get you in this look though, so your cooperation will be helpful."

"Tell me more about this surprise," Katara sighed, stepping into the brown skirt Azula had laid out on the floor.

Azula smoothly zipped up the skirt, pinning the band in at the waist where it was a little loose. She pulled a crop-top up Katara's arms, zipping it up the back. Ty Lee finished teasing and pulling Katara's hair into a half-ponytail with so much hairspray Katara didn't think she would be able to find all of the bobby pins before falling asleep that night.

She sputtered when Azula got out the face paint. "Look," Azula put her weight back on one leg, red jar in one hand and a cosmetic brush in the other. "You need to be in disguise. You know mythology, right? Who shows up in the Blue Spirit stories more than anyone else?"

Katara's jaw dropped and her mind began to whir with the implications. "Are you dressing me up as the Painted Lady?"

"Azula, five minutes," Ty Lee said as she fastened a seashell necklace around Katara's neck.

"Yes," Azula said, waving the red brush around in exasperation. "Have you figured it out yet?"

Katara stopped fighting and simply nodded. "A little more notice would have been nice, though," she hissed through her teeth as Azula finished painting the stripes on her face.

Ty Lee finished with the jewelry. They stepped back and let Katara admire herself fully in the mirror.

She looked like a cross between a pop star and a fairy tale. The deep brown of the fabric was just a shade darker than her skin. She swayed from side to side, and the layers of chiffon in her skirt floated around her calves. The waistband sat above her belly button, and the gap between it and the crop top was at most two inches. The top was made of a thick stretchy material with wide straps that comfortably camouflaged her bra underneath. The square neckline showed a hint of cleavage.

The jewelry and face paint sold her as a fairy tale though. Azula had found a red with the perfect amount of metallic copper to it. It complimented Katara's undertones perfectly. Ty Lee's jewelry had the same tone of copper in it, all burnished so that it looked old. Katara flexed her bicep, smiling at the way the armband dug into her muscle. A crescent moon dangled on her forehead from the jeweled comb Ty Lee had placed in her part. The pastel pink and white shell necklace was the only piece that didn't match the brown or copper. It was really more of a collar, covered with small sand dollars and conches with a large iridescent clamshell set in the center.

Katara's eyes were wide as she turned to hold hands with Azula and Ty Lee. "This is amazing."

They smiled and Azula arched one eyebrow. Ty Lee twirled a strand of Katara's hair around her finger to lay the curl.

"Showtime," Azula said, pushing the door open to the bustling sounds of the arena. Katara took a deep breath.

* * *

Zuko wanted to mess up his show-ready hair. Why hadn't he just told Katara the truth? Now she was in the VIP section probably mad at him for ducking out on their first date.

He peeked through the curtain at the VIP stands. He couldn't find her in the seats, but the glare from the lights made it difficult to see much of anything in the crowd. He just prayed one more time.

Azula, on the other hand, was dictating people around backstage more than usual. She stopped barking orders into her radio when she saw Zuko and beckoned him over.

"Zu-zu, I hope you don't mind, but we found a wonderful piano player for that new number you added to the line up," her eyes glinted as she smiled. "Still just before 'The Search' for your finale."

"Yeah, that sounds great," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "Will you have someone check on Katara and let her know that I'm, I don't know, okay?"

After Azula consoled him that yes, Katara would be fine and she was already working on it, Zuko strode out onto stage. The crowd rose to its feet. This made his last show look like jam session at the teashop. The energy was inviting, and he allowed himself to get swept up in it.

* * *

He couldn't see the VIP box through the lights and imagined she was there, listening and getting as lost in the music as he was. Before the last two songs, the most important songs, he jumped backstage for a quick gulp of water and mask touch-up.

Azula patted him on the shoulder after fixing the thick blue and white paint. "Mom would be proud Zuko," she smiled, and for once it looked genuine. Piano notes filtered back to him from the stage and she pushed him back toward the lights. "No matter what," Azula said softly. "Just have fun."

Zuko walked back onstage, entranced by the piano player. She was gorgeous and intense about the music. She held down one chord for dramatic effect and looked up at him. The blue of her eyes gave her away. He took in her face paint and outfit and smiled. He picked his microphone up from the stand.

"The talented and lovely Painted Lady here is going to help me introduce this new song," his voice echoed throughout the arena to screams and cheers. "It means a lot to both of us."

He sat next to her on the bench like they had the last time they played together. She began playing the song, haunting bass chords and a gentle treble melody. She sang a gentle alto harmony to his baritone vocals.

The song ended to raucous applause from the audience. He stood and motioned for her to stand for a bow but she shook her head and began playing the introduction for his finale. The piano started softly at first, but she repeated the first lines three times while the audience quieted, each time a little louder than the last. A stagehand in black handed Zuko his guitar, and he strummed along with her before starting to sing.

He always ended shows with this song because it was his favorite; each time he sang about his mother it felt a little like ripping off a bandage to let a wound air out before covering it up again. With Katara, though, the bandage hurt less to rip off. Her counter melody on the piano and her vocals made it feel like it was okay to air it all out and leave it.

The last notes echoed eerily in the packed stands. As they bowed their heads, the stadium went wild with screams and flashbulbs. Zuko held out a hand to help Katara up and they bowed together. They looked at each other, and as he twirled her in to dip her low in a kiss, the audience broke the previous sound record in the bending arena. Concertgoers' ears rang for the next day not from the sound system, but from the amplification of thousands of screams and cheers and feet stomping their approval in the enclosed space.

* * *

That night cemented the Blue Spirit as the darling of Republic City and launched the successful music career of the Painted Lady. A leisurely Earth Kingdom tour commenced at the beginning of the summer and extended through the fall school semester. Wild theories about their true identities abounded, accusing everyone from Crown Prince Iroh of the Fire Nation to Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe of hiding behind artful masks and face paint. Extremely private, their identities were never compromised. They would quietly drop an album online with no advance notice followed by a six-month tour before quietly slipping back into anonymity for another few years.

Katara and Zuko, on the other hand, took a semester off from school to backpack across the continent. When they returned to Republic City and school, they became the quietly competent duo in music classes. Years later, Katara trusted nobody but Azula and Ty Lee to help her into her wedding dress.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my Fluffy PWP AU Fairytale! If you have any prompt ideas, the best place to reach me is on my tumblr: dragon-hearted-girl. I may twist it into something barely recognizable unless you turn sideways and squint (ahem, much like this one), but new ideas are fun to play with and always welcome.
> 
> My editing was very light on this, so if you notice anything completely weird please let me know.
> 
> What do I imagine Musical!BlueSpirit sounds like? Hozier. Or Ed Sheeran. I listened to them and Of Monsters and Men a lot while writing this.
> 
> Before you ask me how nobody recognizes them in their face paint, blame my descent into Miraculous Ladybug madness. Face paint beguiles everyone. Please just roll with it.
> 
> And finally, feedback is love. Please leave a comment about what you liked (or didn't like).


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